2 Aggie cadets, driver die in U.S. 290 wreck

A fiery crash Sunday, March 3, 2013, killed three people, including two Texas A&M Corps of Cadets members, and injured one person in northwest Harris County, according to officials. ( Scott Myers / On Scene News)

A fiery crash Sunday, March 3, 2013, killed three people, including two Texas A&M Corps of Cadets members, and injured one person in northwest Harris County, according to officials. The crash happened at 3:30 a.m. Sunday at the 3900 block of U.S. 290, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Investigators said Katie Thomas was driving a 2005 Ford Mustang on the wrong side of the roadway, and it struck a white Ford Explorer driven by 18-year-old Amy Pacheco. ( Scott Myers / On Scene News)

The collision caused the Mustang to rotate clockwise and come to a stop on the inside shoulder. Thomas died at the scene. The Explorer caught fire as it continued westbound and stopped on the outside shoulder of the highway.

Photo By Scott Myers

The fiery crash of an SUV and a Mustang that killed two Texas A&M Corps of Cadets members and the driver of the second car occurred at 3:30 a.m. Sunday in the 3900 block of U.S. 290, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

A weekend trip home ended in tragedy early Sunday for three Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets freshmen who were involved in a fiery head-on collision on U.S. 290.

The three corps members returned to Houston Friday to judge a high school JROTC competition. They were trying to make it back to College Station early Sunday morning for a cadet service project.

"We're reeling right now and coming together," said Eric Gil, A&M senior and Reserve Officer Training Corps of Cadets commander. "We'll get through this. The Aggie family is strong."

Campos sat in the front and Hernandez in the back of a white Ford Explorer as Pacheco drove west on U.S. 290 at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday. A 2005 Ford Mustang, driven by Thomas, was on the wrong side of the highway when it collided head-on with the SUV.

Thomas' car spun clockwise and stopped on the inside shoulder, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. She died at the scene.

The Explorer caught fire and continued westbound before stopping on the outside shoulder. Pacheco and Hernandez were found dead, trapped inside. Campos escaped and was treated at a hospital.

Rosalinda Campos, Francisco's mother, said her son is doing OK, directed by doctors to get bed rest.

All three college freshmen had been active in their high school's Junior ROTC battalions - Pacheco and Campos at Chavez High and Hernandez at Northbrook High School in the Spring Branch ISD. They ran into friends from their high school battalions when they volunteered over the weekend at Houston Independent School District's Bluebonnet Drill Competition, which included JROTC teams from 37 area schools.

"Most of the cadets' parents didn't graduate from college so when they see cadets from UH and A&M, people from their neighborhoods, succeeding in college, it inspires them to go, too," he said.

Among the hundreds of cadets, McGhee remembers Pacheco because she was an ambitious, but gracious leader.

"She told her mother she was excited to serve as a grader at the drill meet," McGhee said. "When I saw her that morning, she had the biggest smile on her face."

Dozens of friends and family gathered at Pacheco's home in northwest Houston on Sunday to comfort and support her parents.

Families supported

In 2012, The Houston Endowment selected Pacheco as one of its Jones Scholars, a four-year need-and merit-scholarship program for Houston area high school graduates that covers up to $16,000 of college costs over six academic years.

Friends and family also gathered at the home of Thomas' parents Sunday, recalling the gregarious girl who was studying at San Jacinto Community College.

"She always had the biggest prettiest smile on her face, and the cutest dimples," friend Sarah Bucsanyi said. "Never a dull moment when she was around, and everyone loved her because of her great, crazy personality."

Paige Becton said she saw Thomas every Sunday morning at Deer Park First Baptist Church. She remembered Thomas as someone who took every chance to spend time with friends and have fun living life to its fullest.

"She was hilarious and always had me laughing when we hung out," Becton said.

Sunday's crash is still under investigation by Harris County Sheriff's Office.